


A Tartan Handkerchief To Cry In

by Tiny_Dragongirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Wiping Away Tears, school years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27558079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiny_Dragongirl/pseuds/Tiny_Dragongirl
Summary: Minerva McGonagall has been wiping away Sybill Trelawney’s tears for decades.
Relationships: Minerva McGonagall & Sybill Trelawney
Kudos: 6
Collections: Kisses Bingo





	A Tartan Handkerchief To Cry In

Minerva McGonagall has been wiping away Sybill Trelawney’s tears for decades.

So when Umbridge dismisses Sybill, Minerva walks to the wailing Divination, well, ex-teacher and offers a handkerchief, practically on autopilot.

'There, there, Sybill ... calm down ... blow your nose on this ... it's not as bad as you think, now ... you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts ...'

They aren’t friends, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Their opinions and, more importantly, their habits differ so much they can rarely keep up an agreeable conversation, so they usually choose not to seek each other’s company. Minerva always keeps her feet firmly planted in reality and considers Divination one of the most imprecise branches of magic— if she wants to be honest with herself, she often thinks of Sybill as a fraud. Opposites attract but not this much. However, Minerva McGonagall whole-heartedly despises injustice and Sybill has faced much injustice in her life.

They go back to a windy November evening in Minerva’s fifth year as a student of Hogwarts, when she found a hiccupping Sybill, just a scrawny little thirteen-year-old girl, wandering aimlessly through the corridors of the school.

‘Oi! Who hurt you?’

Everybody knew about Sybill’s “gift”—an ability that was said to run in the family without any actual evidence for generations now—and many students enjoyed mocking her about it. So far they didn’t take it further than knocking the books out of her hand, shouting ‘Bet you didn’t see this one coming!’ or something similarly childish.

‘Some… kids.’ Sybill shrugged. ‘Reg Bulstrode and— and— Some other boys. I don’t remember.’

Reg Bulstrode and his gang, of course. In Minerva’s year, it was that sly Denem who revelled in his classmates’ attention, treating them as pets rather than as real friends, but as much as his sanctimonious ways made her stomach turn, Minerva had to admit that Denem wasn’t a narrow-minded brute. Reg Bulstrode was the terror of the third year, a real bully, and already gathered his own circle of spineless minions, probably aiming to become the next Denem of the school (and absolutely failing so far).

‘What did they do?’

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Another shrug, accompanied by a wet sniffle. ‘I perceive very little aura around them. They absolutely fail to understand the resonances of the future—’

‘Did you tell them that? Into their faces?’ Minerva cut her off.

‘Yes.’

‘I see.’

‘They just don’t understand!’ Sybill burst out, fresh tears pouring from her eyes, her whole body radiating the grief of the misunderstood. ‘The hustle and bustle of the school tends to cloud my sight but—’

‘Listen, listen.’ Finally discovering the roots of the problem, Minerva decided to change her strategy. ‘Why don’t you stop crying? So I can teach you a spell or two that should help you to protect yourself next time you get into an argument about the resonances of the future.’ Searching the pockets of her robe and finding that she lacked a handkerchief, Minerva simply reached out and wiped away Sybill’s tears with her thumb. ‘There. Chin up, Sybill, it’s not the end of the world.’

After that evening, they didn’t get close and they never became friends. But ever since Minerva has never hesitated to offer Sybill a shoulder to cry on, and maybe that’s something.


End file.
